


Man on the Run

by TVgirll1971



Series: Losing it and Finding it [1]
Category: Whiskey Cavalier (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-10
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-15 12:46:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,831
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29314311
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TVgirll1971/pseuds/TVgirll1971
Summary: Jai is worried when Standish suddenly goes off the grid.
Series: Losing it and Finding it [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2172000





	Man on the Run

**Author's Note:**

> Main story set in early Season 3, with some of the background happening late Season 2.

Jai sat there trying to figure out how they got to this point. It started when Standish met Annie. Jai remembered Standish was leery of her at first. He was leery of all women considering what happened with Tina. Standish just didn’t trust himself not to make the same mistake twice. Of course, it was Will who convinced Standish to take a chance on Annie. The team had conducted background checks and she appeared to be a nice, uncomplicated barista. Though still wary, Standish decided to go all in and ask Annie out.

Thanks to some advice from the team (Will and Susan’s being the most helpful), Standish and Annie’s first date went off without a hitch. After a few weeks, Standish felt comfortable enough to introduce her to the team. Everyone liked her. Will liked that she was friendly, Frankie appreciated that she wasn’t overly friendly, Ray liked her sense of humor while Susan liked her level-headedness and felt she was a good influence on Standish. Jai agreed and also appreciated the fact that Annie respected boundaries. She wasn’t the touchy feely type and she didn’t pepper you with all sorts of personal questions.

Annie also knew when not to ask questions. As per protocol, the exact nature of the team’s purpose was kept from her. As far as Annie knew, the entire team was composed of FBI agents and Standish simply provided IT support. Annie was skeptical of that when Standish returned from a mission with some slight injuries. Though Standish tried to blame it on a sparring incident with Frankie, Annie was doubtful. However, she told Standish that it was okay if there were things he couldn’t tell her.

At the same time, Standish acquired a brand new nemesis. He didn’t know who this person was—not exactly. The Trust had apparently enlisted the services of a hacker. Not just any hacker—this person rivaled Standish in terms of skill and expertise. After a few failures, Standish suddenly realized he was up against a famed hacker with the call sign #MoneyTalks. Try as he might, Standish could not beat him. He was getting frustrated until finally Jai provided the answer. “Maybe you shouldn’t try beating him. Perhaps you just use your energy trying to find out who he is.”

Jai’s advice worked. It wasn’t easy but eventually Standish discovered #MoneyTalks’s identity and the man, Norman Dobbs, was arrested. Unfortunately, Dobbs escaped from police custody and made a beeline right for Annie’s apartment. 

For the umpteenth time, Jai mentally kicked himself. They should’ve accounted for that. They should’ve put eyes on Standish’s family and Annie as soon as Dobbs was arrested. But no, they were complacent. It was over. Frankie tried to assure Jai that this wasn’t his fault. There was no way of knowing Dobbs would escape custody on the way to prison. He was a simple hacker—who would’ve guessed he’d pull of an escape? Jai wasn’t convinced though—he should have known. Dobbs wasn’t your average hacker. He had a history of violent behavior. Granted, it was all fist fights and disorderly conduct but it’s not a stretch for a man like him to overpower police and go out and seek revenge. Plus, even though it took weeks for Standish to find out Dobb’s identity, Dobbs probably knew Standish’s from the start! In hindsight it was so obvious! Jai remembered what Will said about hindsight being 20/20 but platitudes like that didn’t exactly make Jai feel better. Annie was still dead and Standish was still on the run. 

*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ****** *** *** ****** *** *** ***

Meanwhile, Standish couldn’t believe how stupid he’d been. Spies don’t get to fall in love. He didn’t care what Will said. Okay, granted, Ray and Susan were doing good but that’s because they were both spies. They both knew the risks. He had *no* business getting involved with a civilian. Standish thought back to the first year he was on the team—how he wanted a nemesis. How stupid can you get? Like it’s some cool rite of passage? Even when he figured out he was up against #MoneyTalks he was so gleeful about it. He imagined himself as superhero with his very own supervillain. Standish remembered how pleased he was with himself when he found out who #MoneyTalks really was. He’d done it! He’d discovered the supervillain’s identity! His feeling of triumph ended when he found out Dobbs escaped. As Will discussed a manhunt, a thought occurred to Standish. 

“Oh my God.” he said, his voice quiet. “He’s going to come after my family.”

“We don’t know that.” Will argued.

“Oh, come on, man!” Standish snapped. “It’s supervillain 101: get revenge!” Getting increasingly hyper, he added. “You have to find my Mom, my Dad, my stepfamily. You have to get them in Witness Protection or something until this boils over!”

“Standish, honey, you need to…” Susan began.

“Don’t tell me to relax, woman! There’s some crazy ass nutjob after my family!!” Standish yelled.

“Standish,” Will said calmly, placing his hand on the younger man’s shoulder. “There’s no reason to believe that Dobbs is going to go after your family.” Reacting off Standish’s look, he added. “However, in the event that he does, Ray” Will pointed to Ray who was on his cellphone in the back of the room, “is dispatching cars to both your mother and father’s house. If he goes there, they’ll get him.“

Standish was appeased by that until another thought occurred to him. “Annie!” Whipping out his cell phone, he rushed out the door.

“Standish! Wait!” Will yelled after him.

Standish barely heard Will as he raced out the bar and to his car. He tried calling Annie but there was no answer. Sure, she could’ve been taking a shower. Or she could’ve been at the mercy of some deranged lunatic. In no time at all, Standish got to her apartment and rushed in.

“Annie!” he yelled. “Annie! Where are you? Annie! Are you okay?” 

He stepped into the bedroom and that’s when he saw her. His heart stopped as saw her lying on the floor in a pool of blood.

“OH MY GOD!” he screamed as he ran over to her. “OH MY GOD, ANNIE !” Distraught, he saw a bloody knife next to her and knew exactly what happened. Suddenly, he heard a sound and looked up to see a diabolical monster smiling at him.

*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ****** *** *** ****** *** *** ***

Jai wondered again why no one immediately went after Standish. There were five people in that room and with the exception of Ray, who was on the phone, they all stood there like nincompoops. Finally, Susan spoke up and said someone should go after him. 

“I’ll go.” Jai spoke up, pinging Standish’s phone to get his location. Of course, he knew where Standish was going—he was going to check on Annie. On the way there, Jai attempted a few times to call Standish but he never picked up. In retrospect, he should’ve made more of an effort to get to Annie’s faster. Not that he was being deliberately slow but he could’ve gotten there a lot quicker if he wanted to. Unfortunately, he agreed with Will. He honestly didn’t think Dobbs was a threat. People like him, they go into hiding if they escape. They don’t enact revenge. Yes, criminals like Ollerman do but Dobbs was no Ollerman. If Jai actually thought there was a threat—he would’ve tore through those streets just like he did when Will was kidnapped. But he didn’t. And while he wasn’t adhering to the speed limit, he wasn’t going as fast as he could have and that’s why he got to Annie’s too late.

Jai didn’t know how late he was. It was probably only three minutes. However, it was late enough for him to arrive on the scene to see Standish’s car speeding past him. Confused, Jai called Standish who immediately picked up.

“Jai!" Standish said in a panic. "I’m sorry man, I,I didn’t mean to do it. I just freaked out. I just lost it!”

“Standish, what are you talking about?” Jai asked.

“You’ll find out when you go in there. God.” Standish said, his voice cracking. “I didn’t mean to do it! I just saw her lying there, then I saw him with that damned smile on his face and I just lost it! I barely even remember doing it!” Quietly, he added. “Tell Will I’m sorry. He put his faith in me and I just… Tell them all, I’m sorry, man.” 

“No.” Jai replied. “You can tell them yourself. We explain this away.”

“We can’t explain this away!” Standish yelled. “I know how this story ends and it ends with me in jail!” Quietly, he added. “I’m sorry. Tell them I’m not coming back.” 

Jai suddenly heard a click. “Standish!~ Edgar!” Jai yelled. He tried to get Standish back on the phone but there was no answer. He pinged the phone, only to discover that it wasn’t moving. “He must have thrown it out of the car.” Jai surmised. Filled with trepidation, Jai got out of his car and headed to Annie’s apartment. There he found two dead bodies in the bedroom: Annie, her throat slit and Dobbs, stabbed in the chest multiple times.

With a heavy heart, Jai made a call. “Will. We have a problem.”

*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ****** *** *** ****** *** *** ***

Later, Jai was at the Dead Drop telling the team everything.

“So,” Will began, obviously trying to wrap his head around Jai’s story. “We’re thinking Dobbs killed Annie out of revenge, Standish arrives at the scene and kills Dobbs.”

“We don’t just think it, Will.” Frankie said in a slightly exasperated tone. “Standish basically told Jai as much.”

At that point, Ray walked in. “I spoke to my contact at the NYPD. He said two sets of prints were found on the murder weapon—Dobbs’ and Standish’s.”

 _”Oh, Dios mio.”_ Susan whispered as she crossed herself. 

“Why did we even call the police anyway?” an angry Frankie asked. “ We could’ve just covered this up ourselves. The CIA does it all the time.”

“Well, the FBI doesn’t.” Will said, his tone resolute. “And neither does this team.”

“So, we’re happy just to let Standish go to jail then?” Frankie asked.

Will sighed. “There were extenuating circumstances. The court will understand that. We just need him to turn himself in so he can explain what happened.”

*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ****** *** *** ****** *** *** ***

A day later, Frankie walked up to Jai who was bent over his laptop. "Any luck?" she asked.

Jai abruptly sat up and snapped "Since the last time you asked? No, Francesca, none!" He then sighed and glanced down "I'm sorry."

"No, it's okay. I'm worried about him too."

"It's funny." he began. "When I first met Standish, I couldn't imagine working with him. Now I can't imagine not."

"We'll find him, Jai. This team won't stop looking until we do."

Jai looked at Frankie. He appreciated what she was doing--she was trying to make him feel better. However, they both knew the truth: The longer Standish stayed on the run, the worse things would get for him. They also knew that the one person on the team best suited to locating a missing person was Standish himself.

For the umpteenth time, Jai silently willed Standish to call him. That night, he’d get his wish.

Jai woke up to the sound of his phone ringing. “It’s 2:00 in the morning.” He looked at his phone—it was an unknown number. Suddenly, he realized who it was.

“Standish?” he asked.

“Jai, I need help.” Standish replied, his voice cracking. “I don’t know what to do, man! Living off the grid. I’m not cut out for this shit!”

“Edgar, you need to turn yourself in.”

“I killed a guy, Jai! The second I turn myself in, they’re going put my ass in jail!” Standish yelled, upset.

Jai paused. He could feed Standish a nice comforting lie like Will would. However, Jai was too much of a realist for that. “You’re right. They will.” He admitted. “But you need to tell them your side of the story.”

“My side.” Standish scoffed. “Like they’re actually going to care about my side.”

“They will if I tell them.” Jai declared. “Me and the rest of the team. We’ll tell them what kind of person you are. We’ll fight for you. But we can only do that if you come out of hiding.” In a softer voice, he added. “Edgar, please. The only way you get a happy ending is if you turn yourself in. And I really-I really want you to have your happy ending.”

On the other end of the line, Standish stood there conflicted. He had no clue what to do. A happy ending?! The only options he could see were a life on the run or a life in prison—neither one preferable. Finally, he spoke. “I, I, I’m sorry, Jai. I gotta go.” 

Jai heard a click. “Standish, no!” Jai stared at the phone, willing Standish to call back. 

The next morning, an extremely tired Jai walked into the Dead Drop. He barely got any sleep after Standish had called. In fact, he spent the rest of the night trying to pin point his location, to no avail. The situation seemed hopeless. Suddenly, Jai’s phone rang again. It was Frankie. 

“Jai, good news.” Frankie reported. “Ray’s contact at the NYPD just called. Standish turned himself in.”

*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ****** *** *** ****** *** *** ***

The team secured Standish a top-notch lawyer. At his arraignment, Standish pled guilty to voluntary manslaughter and, due to his standing in the community and lack of a criminal record, was released on his own recognizance awaiting sentencing. 

At the sentencing hearing, the entire team acted as character witnesses. After Susan testified to Standish's state of mind at the time of the attack, Jai was called to the stand and testified to what happened the night Dobbs was killed—namely the conversation he had had as Standish fled the scene and the discovery of Dobbs’ and Annie’s bodies. Finally, Standish’s lawyer asked Jai to describe his relationship with Standish.

Jai smiled fondly. “He’s my best friend.”

"Have you always held the defendant in high regard?” 

“Oh, no.” Jai said with a small smile. “When I first met him, I didn’t like him at all. I thought he was irresponsible, immature, and totally lacking in self-discipline.”

“So what changed?”

Jai thought for a second. “I don’t know really. I guess I got to know him and, despite being the most immature person I’d ever met, he was also, obviously, a kind hearted person with malice towards no one.”

“So, you agree with your collogues that what happened that evening--the attack on Norman Dobbs—was an aberration?” 

“Yes. Absolutely."

Later, after some deliberation, the judge rendered her verdict.

“You should consider yourself lucky, Mr. Standish.” the judge said, dryly. “Avoiding prison time for voluntary manslaughter is practically unheard of. However,” she glanced down at the letters in her hand and continued, “apparently the Directors of the FBI, CIA, and NSA feel that your service to this country outweighs the seriousness of the crime. So do I. There are enough mitigating circumstances here to justify waiving a prison sentence.” Seeing the relieved look on his and the entire team’s faces, she pressed on. “HOWEVER, we can’t forget that a man did die at your hands. True, the man was a scumbag who deserves to rot in hell but that’s beside the point. So, for the crime of voluntary manslaughter, I’m imposing a fine of $ 5,000 to be donated to a charity of my choosing. You’re also ordered to complete two years of community service. There’s also a matter of your little fight from justice. We can’t just have people thinking it’s okay to flee the scene of a crime. As a result, I am forbidding you from leaving the country for a period of six months.” 

“But what about the team?” Standish asked, concerned.

The judge sighed and looked at Will, “Agent Chase. Can Mr. Standish perform his duties remotely from the US when you’re overseas?”

“Well, yes” Will conceded. “but it’s easier if he’s on site with us.” Seeing the judge’s glare, he quickly. “Yes, Your Honor, he can handle things remotely.”

“Glad to hear it.” she said, dryly. “Court adjourned.” 

After the hearing, Standish thanked the team for everything and apologized again for putting them in this predicament. Again, Will assured Standish that he didn’t have anything to apologize for. After all, he’d been where Standish had been when he lost Emma.

The group went to the Dead Drop to celebrate. Alone with Standish, Jai asked a question that had been on his mind for weeks.

“Why me? I mean, you were on the run from the police. If you wanted survival tips--Frankie would’ve been your best bet. If you wanted sound advice or a pep talk, you could’ve called Will or Susan. Why me?”

Standish simply shrugged. “I don’t know. You’re my best friend.”

**Author's Note:**

> In the summer of 2019, a user named aurora requested a Jai/Standish fic. That was an important relationship in the show so I hoped someone would write something. Finally, I decided to give it a go. It's not a light and fluffy story but that's not really my forte. Sorry it took so long.
> 
> The premise of this story comes from the songs "Smooth Criminal" by Michael Jackson and "Billy, Don't you Lose My Number" by Phil Collins.
> 
> BTW, I saw a court room ep. on Bones and thought it'd be cool if for WC to do that. So, I got to reference a little of that here.


End file.
